Guest macdaddyeh Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 Hi everyone: I bring up this issue of what I will call "interviewer bias" becuase you are all bringing up such great mock questions! For example, I'll use the "Iraq crisis." Based on the possible religious and political conflict raising such an issue would create I agree with OT5er that you would likely NOT get such a question. My question to you all then is at what point can an interviewee say I'm not comfortable answering that question or What relevance does that have or Where are you going with this? etc. Would interviewers be taken aback by such a retort or would they respect it and move on. Has anyone felt discriminated against in retrospect during or after an interview? What recourse does one have? I sincerely hope no one needs to worry about this and I imagine ADCOMS are sensitive to the plural society in which we live, but one never knows:\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lots of thinking Posted March 9, 2003 Report Share Posted March 9, 2003 I think thats an awsome question. I always worry about offending the interviewers (not only with political and religious issues) but also with ethical concerns as well. Although the interviewers are supposed to be objective and not really care what the answers are only how we come to the answer and how we rationalize and support our answers, they have their own opininions about all of these issues that might come up. The way that I go about getting around questions like this is to support my view (but very conservatively- by not showing the depth of my passion about the issue), as well as explaining to them that I understand the other view point and explain why. I don't think that there is any situation where I would tell the interviewers that I didn't feel comfortable answering their questions..... I don't know if this helps at, only my humble opinion. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted March 10, 2003 Report Share Posted March 10, 2003 I don't think that interviewers are necessarily attempting to be subjective in asking opinions on current events. It is fair to ask them to clarify a question if you are unsure of their intentions BUT you should be prepared to answer any question that is not on the 'forbidden' list (ie what is your religion, are you married, are you gay, do you have kids, what is your ethnic background, are you on welfare...etc). "The Point" of asking these 'irrelevant' questions as you see them Macdaddyeh, is to see if you a) are aware of the world around you care about issues that are bigger then yourself c) can formulate an intelligent opinion and d) if you can defend that opinion if challenged....all important things for a physician to be able to do. And, keep in mind that if you get into med, you are going to have to deal with a lot of situations that you are not necessarily 'comfortable' with because of the political, ethical, social, cultural issues involved in them. As for discrimination during an interview....at UofT they tape record your interview....so should you think that it was unfair and complain about it they can go back and review the tape. At UWO, you can lodge a formal complaint and have a second interview if you feel that you were treated unfairly or discriminated against...I imagine that other schools have similar policies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jane Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 Just in response to Aneliz's comment about certain topics being forbidden (eg. religion, age, sexual orientation, having kids etc.) - my understanding was that if you brought up such topics during the interview or if you had mentioned these things in your sketch (for whatever reason) then they would be fair game. For example if I stated that I have volunteered at my daughter's school (my daughter doesn't go to school yet but hypothetically!) then it would be fair for the interviewers to ask me how I felt I was going to be able to juggle motherhood and med school together. If I mention having been a nurse for the past 20 years (I wasn't but again it's hypothetical), then it would be fair for the interviewers to ask how I think I will fit in with my "younger" classmates. I would think that even if these sorts of questions come up, it is not so much what your answer is but how you explain yourself. (eg. have you given any previous thought to the question and can you clearly communicate your thoughts.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest macdaddyeh Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 Jane: I think you're right; if it is on your sketch it is fair game. What I take issue with is the fact that some interviewers actually have the audacity to venture into the realm of politics or religion unprovoked. That is to say, one of their questions could really be "What do you think of the Israel-Palestinian conflict?" Such questions, in my opinion, are entirely inappropriate and *could* potentially be considered by an applicant to be inflammatory or discriminatory...Judging from other posts, applicants have been asked such questions. As an interviewer for other programs etc (never med schools) I have always steered clear from asking specific questions. I usually recommend general questions but demand specific examples. Because I mentioned "church"-related activities in my sketch, I definitely expect to be probed about such activities, but do NOT expect questions like "What is your religion?" I know I will get some tough or ethical questions but they must be placed in a context or be asked generically otherwise one could really question the interviewer as to their motives in asking the question(s). Although I do expect to be asked some specific questions, some are better left to generalities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thelaze Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 I have to say that I disagree with you, Jane. Having some mention of your daughter on your sketch does NOT give the interviewer the right to ask about how you would juggle med school and motherhood. That line of questioning is inapprpriate no matter how it gets brought up. If we take your argument to be true - that putting something on your sketch makes it fair game in an interview - then the result would be that people would feel they had to hide certain facts about themselves that might lead to questions they didn't want asked. Even the example you gave, with you hypothetically volunteering at your daughter's school - if you were afraid of being asked about the time demands of motherhood you might be tempted to leave that experience off your sketch, or at the very least you would be worried about being asked what has already been determined to be an unfair question in interview. Bottom line: there are some things that shouldn't be asked, no matter how the question may come up. However, if you yourself launched into a discussion about your amazing skills at juggling school and parenthood, then it's alright for the interviewer to engage in that discussion with you. But you should not under any circumstances be pressured into talking about it, ie, being asked directly. Just my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hmsdread Posted March 12, 2003 Report Share Posted March 12, 2003 Macdaddyeh, I got *exactly* that question last year at my Ottawa interview (Israel-Palestine conflict). It actually took up the bulk of the interview. My best friend is Palestinian, so I think I know a little bit more than the average person, and was able to respond to the question with some depth and insight. To be honest, and not to toot my own horn, I think the interviewer was taken aback with my initial answer (in an impressed way), so he pushed me. He wanted to see what I knew, and how I stood up to challenging viewpoints. He wasn't being inflammtory or using a political scenario to see if my ideas and thoughts were aligned with his - I believe he wanted to see how my mind worked. We got into current and historical examples of propaganda, Canadian military involvement throughout history and how that was relevant to Israel-Palestine, and other related topics. This whole tangent took up about 15 minutes of my 45 minute interview. I can see how you think political scenarios may be inappropriate, but in my opinion, they have a huge role to play in the interview process. Provided you get truly objective interviewers (as I think most are), there really is no better way to assess your knowledge of current events and your critical thinking than to ask you how you feel about a given scenario such as Israel-Palestine, Iraq, etc. Such questions can truly be your chance to shine - formulate a viewpoint, give your reasoning, and defend it when challenged, all while demonstrating how "in touch" you are with the world around you. BTW, I was accepted to Ottawa first round, so regardless of the viewpoints I gave, they must've liked something about the way I gave them. hmsdread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest faqir9 Posted March 13, 2003 Report Share Posted March 13, 2003 I would love to get a question like that. Or even more controversial. The other interview questions....how would you juggle x and y in medical school....they're just stupid in my opinion. Nor do I think that formulaic responses...formulate an opinion, give evidence, support your argument, etc.... should be what interviewers are looking for. If you want to get to know a person have a real conversation with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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